I'll comment here since Smith doesn't allow comments on his blog. Part of the reason for the "balkanization" of theology has got to be the "end game" squabbling of dying denominations. As the mainline protestants circle the drain, the number of positions that can be supported by their dwindling numbers becomes drastically reduced. Dollars make the most sense (!) to people who need jobs.

Sitting out on my hammock swing, smoking a cigar, reading my Kindle.

Language is signs and structures. Signs are pointers to things in God's world. Structures are links, signs between signs. Translation is the substitution of one peoples' signs with another peoples'. But translation is not preaching; we are not looking to meet people halfway. We are providing one end of a connection, not the bridge itself. No one interested in studying Plato would buy the NLT of the Phaedrus.